Water uptake in the hydrophilic poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate) solid-contact of all-solid-state polymeric ion-selective electrodes

Jean-Pierre Veder,†^a Roland De Marco,‡*^a Graeme Clarke,‡^a San Ping Jiang,^b Kathryn Prince,^c Ernö Pretsch^d and Eric Bakker^e

Author affiliations

* Corresponding authors

^a Department of Chemistry, Curtin University, GPO Box U1987, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
E-mail: r.demarco@curtin.edu.au
Fax: +61 8 9266 2602
Tel: +61 8 9266 2155

^b Curtin Centre for Advanced Energy Science and Engineering, Department of Chemical Engineering, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
E-mail: s.jiang@curtin.edu.au
Fax: +61 8 9266 1138
Tel: +61 8 9266 9804

^c Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organization, Menai, New South Wales, Australia
E-mail: Kathryn.prince@ansto.gov.au
Fax: +61 2 9717 9260
Tel: +61 2 9717 9217

^d ETH Zürich, Institute of Biogeochemistry and Pollutant Dynamics (IBP), Universitätstrasse 16, CHN F 16, Zürich, Switzerland
E-mail: pretsche@ethz.ch
Fax: +41 44 632 1164
Tel: +41 44 632 2926

^e Department of Inorganic, Analytical and Applied Chemistry, The University of Geneva, Quai E.-Ansermet 30, Geneva 4, Switzerland
E-mail: eric.bakker@unige.ch
Fax: +41(0)22 3796069
Tel: +41(0)22 3796431

Abstract

Solid-contact (SC) ion-selective electrodes (ISEs) utilizing thin films of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) and plasticized poly(vinylchloride) (PVC) have been produced using a spin casting procedure. This study was carried out with a view of characterizing this popular and well known SC ISE using a series of complementary surface analysis techniques. This work revealed that PEDOT:PSS prevents the separation of an undesirable water layer at the buried interface of this SC ISE due to the high miscibility of water in the hydrophilic PEDOT:PSS layer. The lack of a clearly defined and molecularly sharp buried interface prohibits the formation of a distinct water layer presumably by eliminating sites that promote the accumulation of water. This outcome is important to the chemical sensor community since it provides further insights into the compatibility of sensor components in SC ISEs.

Article information

https://doi.org/10.1039/C1AN15267J

Article type

Paper

Submitted

01 Apr 2011

Accepted

06 Jun 2011

First published

06 Jul 2011

Download Citation

Analyst, 2011,136, 3252-3258

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